Carl Johan Adlercreutz (27 April 1757 – 21 August 1815) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

(Finnish) general and statesman, born in Borgå,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

on family estates. Entering the Swedish army aged 13 in the Finnish Light Cavalry Brigade, he was present when

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

launched his coup-d’etat. He studied military theory in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. In 1777 he joined the Savolax Brigade protecting the Finnish border against Russian aggression. Adlercreutz first saw action in the 1788-1790 Russo-Swedish War, where he distinguished himself. He was promoted Major in 1791 and Squadron Commander 1792. During the Anjala mutiny he remained faithful to the King, standing against the war with Russia, then took part in the trials against the conspirators. He was thereafter appointed the commanding officer of the Nyland Dragoons, holding this post until 1804, when he was made ''Ofverste'' (Colonel-in-Chief) of the newly raised Adlercreutz Regiment.

Finnish War of 1808

At the opening of the

Finnish war The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...

Adlercreutz was appointed ''Ofverste'' commanding the 2nd brigade under Klercker. He replaced Gustaf Löwenhielm as

Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor Count Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor (7 December 1744 – 15 May 1814) was a Swedish noble military officer and one of the Lords of the Realm. He is probably best known from his time as field marshal of Finland during the Finnish War and for participat ...

’s Chief of Staff on 14 April. Adlercreutz distinguished himself in action at

Siikajoki Siikajoki is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the North Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Hailuoto, Liminka, Lum ...

, 18 April, and at Revolax, 27th. On 24 June he forced the Russians from Nykarleby. As CO of the Northern ‘Army’ he drove Raevsky from Lappo in a brilliant action on 14 July, then defeated the Russians again at Alavo in August. At the end of that month he was appointed to command the ‘Finnish’ Division under Klingspor. Forced to retreat due to the Swedish victories not being exploited, he was severely defeated by

Nikolay Kamensky Count Nikolay Mikhailovich Kamensky (russian: Никола́й Миха́йлович Каме́нский; 27 December 1776 – 4 May 1811) was a Russian general who outlived his father, Field Marshal Mikhail Kamensky, by two years. Life and ca ...

at the

Battle of Oravais The Battle of Oravais ( fi, Oravaisten taistelu; sv, Slaget vid Oravais) was one of the decisive battles in the Finnish War, fought from 1808 to 1809 between Sweden and the Russian Empire as part of the wider Napoleonic Wars. Taking place in ...

14 September, which obliged him to abandon Finland. As a consequence of the loss of Finland his estates were confiscated.

Coup d'Etat and subsequent career

Adlercreutz returned to Stockholm to take charge of a military junta ruling the country in place of the insane King

Gustav IV Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

after the

Coup of 1809 The Coup of 1809 ( sv, Statskuppen 1809) also referred to as the Revolution of 1809 (Swedish: ''Revolutionen 1809'') was a Swedish coup d'état by a group of noblemen led by Georg Adlersparre. The coup resulted in the deposition of King Gustav IV ...

. With

Georg Adlersparre Count Georg Adlersparre (March 28, 1760 – September 23, 1835) was a Sweden, Swedish army commander, politician and writer from the Adlersparre family. He was the leader of the Coup of 1809, leading to the deposition of King Gustav IV Adolf of S ...

, on 13 March 1809 at the head of the Junta he arrested the King and seized power. Adlercreutz proposed that he himself should be made king, but Gustav IV's uncle,

Charles XIII Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...

was made king and the French Marshal

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

was chosen instead as Crown Prince and heir to the throne. Later the two generals quarreled, and Adlersparre was disgraced, while Adlercreutz remained in favor, elected Count and took a seat in the Government. In 1813 Adlercreutz was made General and appointed Chief of Staff to

Curt von Stedingk Curt Bogislaus Ludvig Kristoffer von Stedingk (26 October 1746 – 7 January 1837) was a count of the von Stedingk family, and a successful Swedish army officer and diplomat who played a prominent role in Swedish foreign policy for several decad ...

under the Crown Prince's Swedish Army of the North in Germany 1813. He served at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

16–19 October, and was made a Commander of the Austrian

Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

, 88/144 promotion 1813-14.

Personal life

In 1792, Adlercreutz married Baroness Henrietta Amalia Stackelberg (1771-1796), daughter of Lieutenant General Bernt Fredrik Johan Stackelberg and Virginia Sofia Adlerberg. He married again in 1798 to Margareta von Engeström, daughter of ''bergsrådet''

Gustaf von Engeström Gustaf von Engeström (1 August 1738 – 12 August 1813) was a Swedish mineralogist, chemist, and an official on the Swedish Board of Mines. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Biography Gustaf von Engeström was born in ...

and Abela Charlotta Lagerbring. He was the father of Fredrik Adlercreutz and uncle of

Axel Gustav Adlercreutz ''Axel'' Gustaf Adlercreutz (2 March 1821 – 20 May 1880) was a Swedish politician, civil servant, President of the Göta Court of Appeal, Minister in the Cabinet, Member of Parliament 1847–1866 and 1877–1880, Prime Minister for Justice 1870 ...

Finnish War of 1808

Coup d'Etat and subsequent career

Personal life

References

Further reading